Construction continues on the Oroville Dam’s main spillway this week. The Department of Water Resources has been working to reconstruct the the main spillway which was damaged in February because of heavy winter rain.
Crews with Kiewit Corp., the lead contractor on the job, are working around the clock to rebuild enough of the main spillway in time for next rainy season. The deadline for the rebuild is Nov. 1. A study by an independent forensic team found that poor design and construction in the 1960s led to the failure of the spillway. The disaster forced some evacuation for residents living below the dam, but the structure didn’t fail. The entire job is scheduled to be finished in 2018.
As of last week, Lake Oroville was 43 percent full. That leaves plenty of space for the next rainy season.
